As a former elementary Reading Specialist and 6th grade teacher, I have a passion for learning and sharing new ideas in the area of literacy. I am currently a K-8 Curriculum Coordinator and enjoy working with teachers and districts in building capacity in reading and writing instruction. The feeling of passing along a love of reading and writing to children is indescribable. Twitter: @MrsLang4

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Saturday, September 27, 2014

Hi everyone! I hope the start to the school year has been smooth. I have been M.I.A. for a while... Four months ago, my husband and I welcomed our first child - Ellsie Jane :) It has been a busy few months with lots of learning; but, the best four months ever!

I am preparing for a workshop on Conferring in the Reading Workshop and thought that the below resource was helpful. It is important to utilize the conferring architecture when meeting one-on-one with students. This way, we can be as strategic and focused as possible, which will be most beneficial for our kids. Below are some ideas as to what to say during each phase of a conference:

1. Research

2. (Decide)

3. Compliment

4. Teach

5. Coach

6. Link

Remember, it is helpful to have materials with you (your mentor text, conferring toolkit: http://langonliteracy.blogspot.com/2013/08/conferring-toolkits.html)

What We Might Say in a Reading Conference

Research

“How’s it going?”

“What are you working on as a reader?”

If a student uses workshop language, say, “Tell me more about that.” or “What do you mean by that?”

If a reader says she tried a strategy, ask, “Can you show me a place where you tried that?"

“Will you give me a tour of your work (jots or reading responses/notebook)?”

“Will you read a little bit out loud to me?”

“What goals do you have as a reader?”

Compliment

“I have to compliment you on…”

“You’re NOT just the kind of reader who… you are the kind of reader who…”

"I am impressed by how you..."

Teaching

“I have a tip for you.”

“One thing I know all good readers do is… One way to do this is to…”

“Something you are ready for as a reader is…”

“Let me show you what I did… did you see how I…”

Coaching

“Find a place in your reading where you can…”

“Let’s try this together.”

“Now it’s your turn.”

Link

“You can do this not only in this book but also in all texts…”

What other prompts or sentence starters do you use frequently? Comment below to share ideas!